New York's transit workers are becoming more vulnerable to assaults. This alarming detail was revealed in the new MTA safety report.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Janno Lieber was even confused by more and more transit employees getting harassed and assaulted.
"Why is it that the number of employees assaulted continues to increase?" asked Lieber.
If you are an NYC resident who relies on trains and other public transportation, here's what people helping you and others from point A to point B have to go through.
New York's Transit Workers Becoming More Vulnerable To Assaults
CBS News said that it was able to acquire a new MTA safety report, which revealed that transit employees who were assaulted increased by 39% for the first eight months of 2023.
The document also showed a rising trend, hinting that the assaulted transit workers could surpass the record in 2022. Experts said that the harassment and assaults experienced by public transport employees have been happening ever since 2019.
Recently, the New York Post provided some more specific details regarding the assault cases experienced by transit workers. For example, in September, felony assaults in NYC's subway system increased by 22% compared to the same month in 2022.
The New York City said that from January to September, MTA authorities recorded over 422 felony crimes compared to 411, which were recorded in the same period in 2022.
"A lot of people are getting let out due to our criminal justice system," said Felix Ferdinand, a train conductor in New York City.
"Regardless of what they do to us, even if it's an assault ... everything becomes harassment. So everybody just gets a slap on the wrist regardless of what they are doing," he added.
What NYC Transit Workers Experience
Some CCTV videos showing the assaults and harassment experienced by transit employees were acquired. One of the footage showed that a bus driver got glass in his eye after a private car driver hurled something at the bus window.
In another video, a woman was seen moving off a bus in the Bronx. Suddenly, she decided to pepper spray a 17-year-old MTA employee. These are just some of the assaults experienced by public transport workers in NYC.
Janno Lieber said that they are already making efforts to protect New York's transit employees. These include tightening the law that bans people who assaulted MTA workers.
If you want to learn more about the efforts made by MTA to ensure the safety of its employees, you can click here.
